By Margit Resch
South for Winter
Have you ever met someone you did not know on the roof of a building? You read this right: on a roof. Even a roofer would probably say: No, of course not. What a weird question. Well, you need to come to Fripp Island Friends of Music’s next concert on January 12, 2025. There, you will hear and, at the reception after the concert, meet Nick Stone from New Zealand and Dani Cichon from Colorado Springs who, believe it or not, met in 2014 in Peru on the roof of a greenhouse that they were helping to build as young volunteers. And there, on the rooftop, Nick and Dani began getting to know each other. They found out that they were both passionate musicians, he playing the guitar, she the mandolin, both singers and songwriters; and so they started jamming together. On the rooftop! The first song they sang there together was “Falling Slowly,” with the clairvoyant lyrics: “I don’t know you, but I want you all the more for that.” Dani remembers thinking: “OK, our voices blend really well together. There’s something really magical here.” The two even wrote, played and sang their very own song there, on the rooftop, called “Fallen Seeds,” which would turn out to be their first single of many more to come.
After several years of pursuing musical careers in their respective home countries, on opposite sides of the world, Nick and Dani reconnected and performed publicly as a duo in Christchurch, New Zealand, developing their characteristic blend of dark, bluesy ballads and dreamy, harmony-filled duets. In 2017 Nick united with Dani in Nashville, where she had earned a degree in nursing, and where they met Alex Stradal from Michigan, a cellist, who had already made a name for himself by playing in the legendary Ryman Auditorium, and who joined the duo, adding classically-trained strings to its blend of storytelling lyrics and genre-defying instrumentation. That was the birth of the trio South for Winter.
And, yes, you guessed it: Nick and Dani did get married, in April 2019. Of course, they wrote and performed a wedding song, which unfolds the petals of the beautiful Colorado wildflower called aster and makes New Zealand’s iconic bellbird sing, treasured for its melodious voice: “How the mountain loves the moon, how the asters love to bloom, how the bellbird loves to sing. I love you more than all those things.”
But Nick and Dani’s marriage is not the only happy ending. The trio’s relationship and musical endeavors blossomed, too. In spite of their demanding day jobs (Dani as a an intensive care unit nurse, Nick as a bartender, and Alex as a temp in a dialysis center), they began touring and putting South for Winter on the map.
South for Winter’s eclectic blend of instrumentation and vocals, their songs, unique and intriguing both musically and lyrically and described as “folk-blues,” “roots,” or “Renaissance,” soon caught the attention of the music scene worldwide. “With meticulously crafted lyrics, captivating natural charisma, and an impressive assortment of instruments at their command, South for Winter have time and time again established themselves as a crowd favorite.” Their website, quoted here, is not exaggerating. The many shows the trio has performed every year around the United States, in Canada, New Zealand and all over Europe have always sold out, bringing audiences to their feet and reviewers to reach for their most glowing terms.
American Songwriter praises the trio’s music as “laden with delicate harmonies, intricate guitar-work, and earthy vocals… impeccable sound.” Grateful Web finds them “eclectic in the best sense of the word,” and AmericanaUK describes the audience’s experience as an “ethereal, dreamy journey… a journey well-worth taking.” The list of local and international festivals, competitions, award ceremonies and nominations, in which the trio occupied a major presence, is impressive, but too long to quote here.
According to Nashville’s Gazette, the band usually travels modestly in a van which they converted into a “tiny home situation.” They generally spend the night in a Walmart parking lot or at a campsite. But on Fripp Island, they will reside in a real home, most likely quite luxuriously, with easy access to the island’s beautiful beach.
South for Winter will perform on Sunday, January 12, at 5:00 pm in the Fripp Island Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Boulevard. The concert is presented by Fripp Island Friends of Music and supported by the SC Arts Commission. Attendees get a free pass at the Fripp gate. Tickets at the door: adults $30 and free for students, thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. You are invited to join the musicians at a complimentary reception after the performance, catered deliciously by Harold’s Chef Services.
Do you have questions? Do you want to become a member of FIFOM to save money on tickets and support FIFOM’s missions? Email or text Vanessa Peñaherrera at vandy116@gmail.com or (704) 807-0255. And go to frippfriendsofmusic.com for information about our upcoming concerts.
